Existing law requires a business to obtain various licenses from regulatory agencies. Existing law requires state agencies to take specified actions, including, but not limited to, designating a small business liaison, to assist small businesses to achieve compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. This bill would require the Director of the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to ensure that the office's Internet Web site contains information to assist an individual with the licensing, permitting, and registration requirements necessary to start a business. The bill would require a state agency that the Governor determines has licensing authority to provide accurate updated information about its licensing requirements, and would prohibit a state agency from using this Internet Web site as the exclusive source of licensing information for the public. The bill would also authorize the Governor to impose a reasonable fee, not to exceed the actual cost to provide the service, upon users of the Internet Web site.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the Governor to issue a proclamation calling a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress or either house of the Legislature within 14 days of when the vacancy occurs. Existing law requires that a special general election be conducted to fill the vacancy on a Tuesday at least 112 days, but not more than 126 days, following the issuance of the election proclamation. Existing law requires that a special primary election be conducted on a Tuesday either 8 or 9 weeks prior to the date of the special general election, as specified. Existing law imposes deadlines relating to the filing of nomination papers for a candidate in a special primary election, as specified. Existing law also imposes deadlines for submitting an application for a vote by mail ballot in a special election. This bill would, instead, require that the special general election occur at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, after the issuance of the election proclamation. In addition, this bill would require that the special primary election be conducted on a Tuesday either 9 or 10 weeks prior to the date of the special general election, as specified. This bill would also revise the deadlines relating to the filing of nomination papers for a candidate in a special primary election. The bill would require that an application for a vote by mail ballot in a special election be made in the same manner as for a regular election. By imposing new duties or higher levels of service on local elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Existing law prescribes various duties for the Department of General Services in connection with development and maintenance of the park around the State Capitol Building. This bill would authorize the Ronald Reagan Centennial Capitol Foundation, in consultation with the Department of General Services, to plan a statue of Ronald Reagan in the State Capitol Building Annex. The bill would require the Department of General Services and the Ronald Reagan Centennial Capitol Foundation to approve the design and any other aspect of the statue. The bill would require that the planning, construction, and maintenance of the statue be funded with private donations through the Ronald Reagan Centennial Capitol Foundation. The bill would prohibit construction of the statue until the Joint Committee on Rules has approved and adopted the plan for the statue, and the Joint Committee on Rules and the Department of Finance have determined that sufficient private funding is available to construct and maintain the statue.
Existing law, the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, establishes a program of cooperative federalism for the regulation of telecommunications to attain the goal of local competition, while implementing specific, predictable, and sufficient federal and state mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service, consistent with certain universal service principles. The universal service principles include the principle that consumers in all regions of the nation, including low-income consumers and those in rural, insular, and high-cost areas, should have access to telecommunications and information services, including interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and information services, that are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas and that are available at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in urban areas. Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to supervise and regulate every public utility in the state, including telephone corporations, and to fix just and reasonable rates and charges for the public utility. Existing law establishes the state's universal service funds, including the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund (CHCF-A) and the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund (CHCF-B) , in the State Treasury, and provides that moneys in each of the state's universal service funds are the proceeds of rates and are held in trust for the benefit of ratepayers and to compensate telephone corporations for their costs of providing universal service. Moneys in the funds may only be expended to accomplish specified telecommunications universal service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, requires the commission to develop, implement, and maintain a suitable program to establish a fair and equitable local rate structure aided by universal service rate support to small independent telephone corporations that serve rural areas and are subject to rate-of-return regulation by the commission (the CHCF-A program) . This bill would revise the CHCF-A program to instead require the commission, until January 1, 2015, to exercise its regulatory authority to maintain the CHCF-A program to provide universal rate support to small independent telephone corporations in amounts sufficient to meet the revenue requirements established by the commission through rate-of-return regulation in furtherance of the state's universal service commitment to the continued affordability and widespread availability of safe, reliable, high-quality communications services in rural areas of the state. The bill would specify eligibility requirements for small independent telephone corporations to participate in the CHCF-A program and requirements for the commission in maintaining the program. This bill would require a small independent telephone corporation that receives support from the CHCF-A program to provide information regarding revenues derived from the provision of unregulated internet access service upon request from the commission and would require the commission to treat this information as confidential. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a failure by a small independent telephone corporation that receives support from the CHCF-A program to provide information regarding revenues derived from unregulated internet access service when requested by the commission would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) Existing law authorizes the Director of the Department of Fish and Game to authorize one or more operators of commercial fishing vessels to take and land a limited number of Dungeness crab for the purpose of quality testing, as provided. Existing law prohibits the department from approving a testing program unless it is funded by the entity authorized to conduct the testing program and prohibits the sale of the crab taken for testing. Those provisions become inoperative on April 1, 2019, and are repealed on January 1, 2020. This bill would delete the above prohibitions, and, instead, would specifically authorize the sale of tested crab meat and the use of sale revenues for purposes of managing the testing program. The bill would require that the sale revenues be deposited in an account managed and overseen by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The bill would require the department, in consultation with specified entities, to develop suggested guidelines for the management of the funds from the sale, among other guidelines. (2) Existing law requires the director to adopt a program, as provided, for Dungeness crab trap limits for all California permits, that includes 7 tiers of Dungeness crab trap limits based on all California landings receipts under California permits, as specified. Existing law authorizes an individual to submit an appeal of a trap tag allocation by March 31, 2014, as provided. Existing law requires the individual requesting the appeal to pay all expenses, including a nonrefundable filing fee, as determined by the department, to pay for the department's reasonable costs associated with the appeal that is heard and decided by an administrative law judge. Those provisions become inoperative on April 1, 2019, and are repealed on January 1, 2020. This bill would authorize any Dungeness crab permitholder to apply to the administrative law judge for a waiver of these appeal fees. The bill would authorize the administrative law judge to consider certain factors when making this determination, including medical hardship. This bill would require the department to decide an appeal to revise downward a trap tag allocation. (3) Existing law regulating the Dungeness crab fishery permits the owner of a vessel to whom a Dungeness crab vessel permit has been issued, upon the written approval of the department, to temporarily transfer the permit to another replacement vessel for which use in the Dungeness crab fishery is not permitted, for a period of not more than 6 months during the current permit year, under specified circumstances. Existing law also permits the transfer of a permit to another vessel in the event of loss or destruction of a permitted vessel, within 2 years after the loss or damage of the original vessel. This bill would require the owner of a vessel to whom a Dungeness crab vessel permit has been issued to have had California Dungeness crab landings made with trap gear documented on department landing receipts and to have had California Dungeness crab landings of not less than 5,000 pounds cumulative for the past 2 Dungeness crab seasons to translate the permit. The bill also would require the replacement vessel to be equivalent in size and capacity, as specified, to the vessel from which the permit is transferred. The bill would require specified proof of loss, theft, damage, mechanical breakdown, or destruction to be submitted for a vessel permit to be transferred. This bill would require a vessel owner to sign an application for transfer and certify that the information included is true to the best of his or her information and belief. By expanding the definition of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law regulating commercial fishing traps makes it unlawful, except as specified, to willfully or recklessly disturb, move, or damage any trap that belongs to another person and that is marked with a buoy identification number. This bill would authorize the department, in consultation with the Dungeness Crab Task Force, to develop regulations as necessary to provide for the retrieval of lost or abandoned commercial crab traps. Those provisions would become inoperative on April 1, 2019, and would be repealed on January 1, 2020. (5) Existing law authorizes expenditures from the fish and wildlife propagation fund of any county to be made for specified purposes, including for reasonable administrative costs, as provided. Existing law defines "reasonable cost" as an amount that does not exceed 3% of the average amount received by the fund during the previous 3-year period, or $3,000 annually, whichever is greater, as provided. This bill would instead define "reasonable cost" as an amount that does not exceed 15% of the average amount received by the fund during the previous 3-year period, or $10,000 annually, whichever is greater. (6) Existing law requires the department to charge a specified fee for each Dungeness crab vessel permit and for certain transfers of permits for the reasonable regulatory costs of the department. This bill would provide for these fees for each transfer of a permit. (7) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires 3313% of the fees derived from the issuance of sport fishing licenses, with certain exceptions, to be deposited into the Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Fund within the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund may be expended, upon appropriation, in support of Department of Fish and Game programs related to the management, maintenance, and capital improvement of California's fish hatcheries, the Heritage and Wild Trout Program, enforcement activities, and other activities eligible to be funded from revenue generated by sport fishing license fees. Existing law requires that those fund moneys be used for specified purposes, including the attainment of prescribed fish production and release goals for state hatcheries. This bill would authorize the department, if those goals are not projected to be met by state hatcheries, and contingent upon a specified inspection and determination by the department, to contract with privately owned hatcheries to procure up to 20% of the pounds of fish necessary to meet the goals. The bill would require a report required by existing law to contain specified information relating to the fund.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation and local agencies, with respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions, to designate certain lanes for preferential or exclusive use by high-occupancy vehicles. This bill, until January 1, 2020, or until the Director of Transportation determines otherwise, as provided under the bill, and files that determination with the Secretary of State, would suspend, consistent with the state implementation plan for the San Francisco Bay area adopted pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act and other federal requirements, the hours of operation for highway lanes designated for high-occupancy vehicles, in the Interstate 80 corridor within the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's jurisdiction, in the morning reverse commute direction, as defined. Because the commission would be required to post signage of the above requirements along the Interstate 80 corridor, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Interstate 80 corridor in the San Francisco Bay area. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Existing law requires specified information to be provided to patients regarding their health care. Existing federal law requires a written report of the results of each mammography examination and requires a summary of that report to be sent to the patient within a specified time period. This bill, from April 1, 2013, until January 1, 2019, would require, under specified circumstances, a health facility at which a mammography examination is performed to include in the summary of the written report that is sent to the patient a prescribed notice on breast density.
Existing law provides for the licensure of weighmasters who weigh, measure, or count any commodity and issue a statement or memorandum that is used as the basis for either the purchase or sale of that commodity. Existing law requires that a weighmaster issue a signed weighmaster certificate whenever payment for the commodity is dependent on a written or printed weight, measure, or count. Under existing law, the Secretary of Food and Agriculture may adopt rules and regulations that are reasonably necessary for the purpose of carrying out provisions of law related to weighmasters. Existing law requires a weighmaster to pay to the Department of Food and Agriculture various license fees, including a $75 fee if the weighmaster is operating at a fixed location and a $200 fee if the weighmaster is operating at other than a fixed location. This bill would authorize any weighmaster weighing any vehicle moving construction materials, including, but not limited to, earth, stone, rock, sand, gravel, limestone, ready mixed concrete, cementitious materials, recycled construction materials, or asphalt paving materials to use an unattended weighing system to weigh the vehicle and to issue a weighmaster certificate to buyers who opt to utilize the unattended system, as provided. The bill would define an unattended weighing system as an automated system not directly under the supervision of a weighmaster that meets the approval, testing, and sealing requirements specified in existing law. The bill would state that it would not impact existing weighing and ticketing systems. The bill would require a weighmaster for an unattended weighing system to pay, only until January 1, 2020, various license fees, including a $200 fee if the weighmaster is operating at a fixed location and a $300 fee if the weighmaster is operating at other than a fixed location, not to exceed the reasonable regulatory costs to the department of enforcing this provision. On and after January 1, 2020, the fees would be the same as the fees described above for other weighmasters, as specified. The bill would, until January 1, 2020, require a weighmaster for an unattended weighing system to keep the same number of deputy weighmaster licensees as were licensed in the average of the last 2 years proceeding the use of an unattended weighing system.
The Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 prohibits a person from conducting timber operations unless a timber harvesting plan prepared by a registered professional forester has been submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The act authorizes the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to exempt from those provisions of the act a person engaged in specified forest management activities, including, until January 1, 2013, the harvesting of trees, limited to those trees that eliminate the vertical continuity of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns, for the purpose of reducing the rate of fire spread, duration, and intensity, fuel ignitability, or ignition of tree crowns if the tree harvesting will decrease fuel continuity and increase the quadratic mean diameter of the stand, and the tree harvesting area will not exceed 300 acres. This bill would eliminate the January 1, 2013, termination date for that exemption.